News

Soludo Denies Plot to Eliminate Peter Obi

Published

3 years ago

March 6, 2023

Eric

The Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has denied allegations that he had been contracted to eliminate the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi.

The governor also dismissed reports where it was alleged that he was part of a meeting at Imo State Government House, Owerri, on how to stop Peter Obi, from pursuing the process to reclaim the mandate through court.

Soludo said, as the governor, he remains the father of Anambra by his position and will not plot or collude to harm any lawful citizen of the state including Obi.

This was made known by Soludo through his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, while speaking to journalists on Monday in Awka, on Monday.

The governor was reacting to a viral message on social media which alleged that he had been contracted to eliminate Obi for a fee.

Aburime in his statement dismissed the allegations as infantile, nauseating, mischievous, unnecessarily inflammatory and a figment of the imagination of the authors.

He said, “None of the allegations is true. The governor has been in Anambra State engaging stakeholders for the Saturday election.
“The general public is advised to disregard the allegations as falsehoods. Ndi Anambra should also disregard all the insinuations in the write-up as mere falsehoods, they should come out massively and vote APGA this Saturday for the state House of Assembly election in order to sustain the developmental strides of the present administration of governor Soludo.
“If certain people could sit somewhere and cook up a story of this nature, it becomes highly reprehensible and certainly deserved to be condemned by every right-thinking person.
“I want to state categorically that there is no iota of truth in that write up, he did not go to Owerri and he was not offered any sum of money to harm anyone, not even his brother, Mr. Peter Obi, an illustrious son of Anambra.
“Soludo wishes Obi well, he appreciates Anambra voters for supporting him massively, of course, he predicted his victory in Anambra and remember, there was no form of violence or electoral malfeasance in Anambra, that speaks a lot about the peaceful nature of Soludo.”Aburime urged the Anambra people and Ndigbo home and abroad to disregard the information, noting that it is a plot to cause chaos in the forthcoming State Assembly election in the southeast geopolitical zone of the country.He called on the Inspector general of police, Usman Alkali Baba, to immediately commence an investigation on the alleged report with a view to fishing out the perpetrators.

Nairametrics

News

Appeal Court Affirms Ruling Barring VIO from Impounding Vehicles, Fining Motorists

Published

3 days ago

December 4, 2025

Eric

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday upheld the judgment that stopped the Directorate of Road Traffic Services and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from seizing vehicles or imposing fines on motorists.

In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, the appellate court found no basis to set aside the Federal High Court’s ruling of October 16, 2024, which restrained the VIO from harassing motorists.

The appeal filed by the VIO was dismissed for lacking merit. Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi delivered in the lead judgment.

The high court had earlier ruled, in a judgment by Justice Nkeonye Maha, that no law authorizes the VIO to stop motorists, impound vehicles, or impose penalties for alleged traffic offences.

The case arose from a fundamental rights suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023) filed by lawyer Abubakar Marshal.

Marshal informed the court that VIO officials stopped him at Jabi in Abuja on December 12, 2023, and seized his vehicle without lawful reason. He asked the court to determine whether their actions violated his rights.

Justice Maha agreed and ordered the VIO and its agents not to impound vehicles or impose fines on motorists, describing the actions as unlawful. She held that only a court can impose fines or sanctions.

She ruled that the VIO’s conduct breached the applicant’s constitutional right to property under Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 14 of the African Charter. She further held that the VIO has no legal authority to seize vehicles or penalize motorists, as doing so infringes on rights to fair hearing, movement and presumption of innocence.

Although Marshal, represented by Femi Falana, SAN, requested ₦500 million in damages and a public apology, the court awarded ₦2.5 million.

The Directorate of Road Traffic Services, its Director, its Abuja Area Commander at the time (identified as Mr. Leo), team leader Solomon Onoja, and the FCT Minister were listed as respondents.

They appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

News

Tinubu Nominates Ibas, Dambazau, Enang, Ohakim As Ambassadors

Published

3 days ago

December 4, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has nominated Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State and a former Chief of Naval Staff, as a non-career ambassador.

Tinubu also nominated Ita Enang, a former senator; Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady of Imo State; and Abdulrahman Dambazau, former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff, as non-career ambassadors.

News

Senate Confirms Chris Musa As New Defence Minister

Published

3 days ago

December 3, 2025

Eric

The Nigerian Senate has confirmed General Christopher Musa, the former Chief of Defence Staff, as the country’s new Minister of Defence.

The announcement was contained in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu.

Musa, who retired from the military just 40 days ago, was nominated by President Tinubu on Tuesday to succeed former Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who stepped down on health grounds.

According to Onanuga’s statement, the Senate approved Musa’s appointment on Wednesday through a voice vote, following a thorough screening session during which lawmakers posed numerous questions.

“Senate confirms Gen. Christopher Musa as Minister of Defence The Senate has confirmed the former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, as the Minister of Defence. The Senate confirmed Musa on Wednesday via a voice vote after a rigorous screening session in which lawmakers asked him many questions,” the statement read in part.